Loading device for mining machines



Fe 18, 1936. M. s. MOORE .LOADING DEVICE FOR MINING MACHINES Filed April4, 1934 Patented Feb. 18, 1936 UNITED STATES LOADING DEVICE FOR MININGMACHINES Matthew Smith Moore, Malvern, England, as-

slgnor of one-half to The Mining Engineering Company Limited, Worcester,England, a

British company Application April 4; 1934, seiial No. 718,982 In GreatBritain April 7, 193s 11 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to loading devices for mining machines of thetype comprising a rotary loader bar co-operating with a comb or likeguiding member over which the broken coal or mineral is tossed onto aconveyor or other suitable device whereby it is removed.

It is an object of my invention to support the loader bar more firmlyand to prevent any deection thereof due to the stresses it has towithstand. Another object is to form the comb so that the space betweenbar and comb is as fully occupied as possible and undesirableaccumulation of coal and clogging in said space are preeluded.

A further object is to lit the bar so that it will not jam in the coal,more particularly at the back of the undercut where such jamming isoften liable to occur. Other objects still are to provide a loadingdevice which will be compact, simple in construction and more efcient inoper-ation than existing devices of that kind, and to provide astructure which will be particularly strong and adapted tooperate undermost diliicult conditions of use.

In accordance with my invention the side of the comb adjacent the' baris provided with ribs which project towards the bar between the loaderpicks and encircle it for asubstantial portion of its circumference bothabove and below the axis of the bar. The bar and comb each may have.removable end portions, the bar preferably having an end portionadapted to be tted with cutter picks in order to clear the way throughthe undercut when the nature of the coal is such that jamming may occur.

The picks in the end portion of the bar are preferably more closely setth-an in the other portion or portions of the bar. rIhe ribs of thecombmay be integral therewith or lthey may be formed on a castingsecured to the comb or removably tted in keyways therein. 'Ihe ribs ofthe outermost portion are preferably formed on a separate removable unitof bronze or'other non ferrous metal, and are adapted to act as alateral abutment, to oppose any deflection of the loader bar. When a baris employed, having cutter picks on its end portion, the col-operatingportion of the comb may be provided at the top with horizontallywedge-shaped picks or projections adapted to engage grooves made in thecoal by the bar picks and break away the sides of such grooves.

The driven end of the bar extends into a gear box provided -alongsidethe rising portion of the conveyor. The top of said box is preferablymade sloping to coincide with the slope of the conveyor, in order not toimpede pieces of coal overlapping the sides of the conveyor as they arecarried up the slope. In the top portion of the box is the conveyorshaft from which the bar extending under it is driven through an idleron an intermediate shaft which is accommodated under the slope, in ahousing adapted to rest on a facing provided immediately over the barbearing.

Referring to the accompanying drawing which illustrates by way ofexample a loader device embodying my present invention,

Fig. l is a sectional elevation of the device on line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same, partly in section on line II-II ofFig. 3.

Fig. 2a is a fragmental plan View showing the end of the comb and barprovided with cutter picks.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on a larger scale of the gear box.

Fig. 4 shows the comb in elevation.

Figs. 5 and 6 are cross sectional Views of the b-ar and comb, thesection lines through the latter ,being shown at V-V andVI-VI'respectiVely, in

Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 5, showing the end portions of the comband bar fitted with cutter picks. l In the drawing, I denotes the baseplate of a loading machine. On said plate is pivoted at 2 the loaderframe 3 which forms with the gear box I and comb 5 a rigid structure andsupports the driving shaft and return shaft I for the endless conveyor8. As shown the top of box 4 has a slope which substantially coincideswith that of the rising part of the conveyor, so that it does not hinderthe progress of coal along the edge of the conveyor.

Shaft 6 may be driven from the motor on the machine in any suitable way.It also conveys motion to the loader bar 9 which is journalled inbearings Ill, II in the gear box ll. To this end I provide in the box 4-a shaft I2 above and parallel to the loader bar, said shaft carrying abevel wheel I3 in mesh with a bevel wheel I4 on shaft 6. Through pinionsI5, I6, Il the motion of shaft I2 is transmitted to bar 9, pinion I6being on an idle shaft I8 supported in a housing I9 which rests on thetop of bearing II and is secured thereto by bolts 20 with thisconstruction I am able to use pinions of small size and to accommodateshaft I8 under the slope, a removable cover 2I being provided to giveaccess thereto.

Pinion I'I is slidable on a splined portion 22 of bar 9 and it may bethrown into or out of engagement with pinion I6 by means of a fork 23controlled by a spindle 24 operated from outside the box,

The bar 9 may be made of two or more sections which may be spigotallyconnected with each other. In Fig. 2 three such sections are shown, theouter section 9| being very short and easily removable. Loader picks 25are secured at intervals on the bar, in staggered relation, such pickspreferably being so shaped that the rear of a pick (Figs. and 6) in onerow is substantially flush with or overlaps the front of the adjacentpick in the next row. When the nature of the coal is such that jammingmay occur at the back of the undercut, the end portion 9| of the bar maybe fitted with cutter picks 25 (Fig. 2a), said picks then preferablybeing more closely spaced than the loader picks on the other portions ofthe bar.

The comb 5 illustrated herein is also made of three sections, the endsection 5I corresponding in length with the end section 9| of the barand being also easily removable. On the comb are ribs 21 which projectlaterally towards the bar between the loader picks, almost touchingv thebar and encircling it for say about one-third of its circumference, thuscompletely filling the gap between the bar and the comb and preventingaccumulation therein of small particles of coal. The ribs preferablytaper downwardly. They may be integral with the comb as shown in Fig. 6,or they may be formed on a casting 28 secured to the comb, this beingthe preferred construction for the end portion of the comb (Fig. 5)where the casting is suitably made of bronze and serves as a sideabutment for the end of the bar.

Above the ribs encircling the bar are provided comb picks or teeth 29tapered in a verti cal plane, preferably tted removably in horizontalholes 30 near the top face of the comb and extending tangentiallytowards the bar.

When the end portion of the bar is fitted with cutter picks, the endportion 5l of the comb may be replaced by another similar portion 52which is adapted to accommodate horizontally wedgeshaped picks 3l whichare adapted to cooperate with the cutter picks 26 (Figs. 2a and 7).These picks 3| are secured on the top of the comb portion 52 andarranged in alternate setting, in direct alignment with every second barpick so that, as the machine makes its way through the coal, they areforced into the grooves made in the coal by said bar picks and breakaway the ribs between such grooves.

The comb is conveniently so arranged that it forms one side of the iiatportion of the endless conveyor, alongside the bar. It is preferablyremovable and reversible so that it may be fitted to either side of theconveyor, i. e. for loading to the right or to the left.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the constructionaldetails of the arrangement described and illustrated without departingfrom the scope of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a loading device for mining machine, a frame, a gear box on saidframe, an overhung bar journalled adjacent one of its ends in said gearbox, picks on said bar, means for rotating said bar, a comb on saidframe, the side of said comb adjacent said bar being provided with ribsprojecting towards the bar between said picks, said ribs encircling saidbar for a substantial portion of its circumferencce both above and belowthe axis of said bar, said ribs terminating above pavement level.

2. In a loading device for mining machine, a rotary overhung loader bar,picks on said bar, a comb extending alongside said bar, the side of saidcomb adjacent said bar being provided with downwardly tapering ribsprojecting towards the bar between said picks, said ribs encircling saidbar for a substantial portion of its circumference both above and belowthe axis of said bar, but leaving a clear space under them.

3. In a loading device for mining machine, a rotary loader bar, said barhaving a removable end portion adapted to receive cutter picks, picks onsaid bar, a comb extending alongside said bar, said comb also having aremovable end portion, ribs on said comb projecting towards said barbetween the picks on said bar, said ribs encircling said bar for asubstantial portion of its circumference both above and below the axisof said bar.

4. In a loading device for mining machine, an overhanging rotary loaderbar, loader picks on the greater part of said bar, cutter picks on theend portion of said bar, a comb extending alongside of said bar, ribs onsaid comb projecting towards said bar between said picks, the ribs onthe end portion of said comb encircling said bar for a substantialportion of its circumference both above and below the axis of said barand forming a lateral abutment for the end portion of said bar.

5. In a loading device for mining machine, an overhanging rotary loaderbar having a removable end portion, cutter picks on said end portion,loader picks on the remaining portion of said bar, a comb extendingalongside of said bar, said comb also having a removable end portion,ribs on said comb projecting towards said bar between said picks, saidribs partly encircling said bar and extending both above and below theaxis thereof, the ribs on the end portion of said comb being made ofanti-friction metal.

6. In a loading device for mining machine, a rotary overhung loader bar,loader picks set on said bar in staggered relation, said picks being soshaped that the rear of a pick in one row is substantially flush withthe front of the adjacent pick in the next row, a comb extendingalongside said bar, ribs on said comb projecting towards said barbetween said picks, said ribs partly encircling said bar over asubstantial portion of its circumference both above and below the axisthereof.

'7. In a loading device for mining machine, a rotary overhung loaderbar, loader picks on said bar, a comb extending alongside of said bar,horizontal picks on said comb, said comb picks having tapering endsextending tangentially to said bar, ribs on said comb projecting towardssaid bar between said bar picks, said ribs encircling said bar over asubstantial portion of its circumference both above and below the axisof said bar.

8. In a loading device for mining machine, a rotary loader bar havingcutter picks on its end portion, loader picks on the remaining part ofsaid bar, a comb extending alongside of said bar, ribs on said combprojecting towards said bar between said bar picks and encircling saidbar over a substantial portion of its circumference, and means on thetop of the end portion of said comb adapted to co-operate with thecutter picks on the end portion of said bar.

9. In a loading device for mining machine, a. rotary loader bar having amain portion and a removable end portion, loader picks on said mainportion, cutter picks on said end portion, a comb extending alongside ofsaid bar, said comb also having a main portion and a removable endportion, picks on the main portion of said comb adapted to co-operatewith the loader picks on said bar, and Wedge-shaped picks on the top ofthe end portion of said comb adapted to co-operate with the cutter pickson said bar, said wedge-shaped picks being in alignment With everysecond cutter pick on the bar.

10. In a loading device for mining machine, a frame, a gear box on saidframe, a loader bar jotu'nalled at the bottom of said box, a comb onsaid frame extending alongside said bar, an endless conveyor supportedin said frame, said conveyor having a horizontal portion adjacent saidcomb and a rising portion adjacent said box, said box having a slopingtop substantially in line with the rising portion of said conveyor, ashaft for driving said conveyor, said shaft extending in the top portionof said box, and means in said box for driving said bar from said shaft.

11. In a loading device for mining machine, a frame, a gear box on saidframe, a loader bar, a bearing for said bar at the bottom of said box, acomb on said frame extending alongside said bar, ribs on said combpartly encircling said bar,

an endless conveyor supported in said frame, said conveyor having ahorizontal portion adjacent said comb and a rising portion adjacent saidbox, said box having a sloping top, a driving shaft for said conveyor,said shaft extending into the top portion of said box, gears in said boxfor operatively connecting said shaft and said bar, an intermediateshaft for one of said gears, a housing for said intermediate shaftaccommodated under the sloping top of said box, said housing resting onsaid bar bearing.

MATTHEW SMITH MOORE.

